WHAT EATS A MOSQUITO?

by admin on February 9, 2015

What eats mosquitoes? What does a mosquito eat?

Mosquitoes bug all of us. The are ectoparasites, which are creatures that bite other creatures—including us—in order to feed on their blood. And mosquitoes can be found almost everywhere, from most of the world’s hottest places to most of its coldest. Some species of mosquitoes can spread dangerous bacteria and viruses through their bite. Fortunately, a lot of other animals like to eat mosquitoes. If not, we would have to deal with even more of these flying pests.

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and the larvae that hatch out are fed upon by many different kinds of small fishes, as well as by the aquatic, or water-dwelling, larvae of other kinds of insects.

Dragonflies are voracious predators of adult mosquitoes, as are most species of earth’s only flying mammal. In addition, Many avian species around the world depend on mosquitoes for sustenance.

It is important to note that not all mosquitoes bite: Only the females do that, because they need the richness of blood to make mosquito eggs in their bodies. Male mosquitoes of most species dine on the nectar of plants.

An OMNIVORE is an animal that mixes vegetation and other animals into its diet.

FOOD WEBS!

Food Webs Are Maps Of What Eats What, And Who Eats Whom! Below, You'll Find Links To Several Food Webs.

ALL FOOD ENERGY STARTS WITH THE SUN

A food web—every food web—begins with sunlight. Plants turn that sunlight into usable food energy, and that energy is transfered to the herbivorous animals that eat those plants. When those plant eating animals are themselves eaten by predators, the energy is transfered higher up the food chain and becomes concentrated in the bodies of the top, or apex, predators.
The apex predators return energy to the food web after they die and their bodies are consumed by scavengers, fungi and microbes.